Nicolas wasn't really an absolute monarch, but "constitutional, non-democratic one". Theoretically absolute prior to 1906, he was heavily restrained by court, extended family, and other groups of interest even before the constitution of 1906. "total absolute monarchs" were rare, and relied on personal cunning and charisma, not laws saying they were absolute.
Nicolas had very few, if any real constitutional limitations on his power.
He agreed to even token parliamentary processes with extreme reluctance (wearing 14th century regalia while signing the decree enacting the parliament, the Czarina being accompanied by arch conservative clergy denouncing it, refusing to address the parliament, limiting the parliament's already token powers etc.
While Nicolas did have traditional limitations in that important decisions were made by, as you alluded to, after a conference of traditional VIPS, even this was no longer sufficient by the 1900s. Monarchists basically wanted real parliaments. They could, of course, be heavily weighted towards the ancien regime, but very few were willing to live in a society where the fates of millions rested with one near absolute monarch and a very small junta of advisers.